(2014 ☆ ARCHIVED) Women’s K4 Sprint - Hungary

canoe sprint world paddle awards golden nominee team year 2014 hungary olympian gold champion danuta kozak noc sportscene nelo Szabo Gabriella Karasz Anna Ninetta Vad

WOMEN'S K4 (Hungary) - Nominee for 'Sports Team of the Year'

Sport: sprint K4, representing: Hungary
2014: World Championships: 1st K4W 500m, European Championships: 1st K4W 500m, World Cup: 1st K4W 500m (Szeged)
2013: World Championships: 1st K4W 500m, European Championships: 1st K4W 500m, World Cup: 1st K4W 500m (Szeged)
2012: London Olympic Champions, K4W 500m

Since they won gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Hungarian women’s K4 team have been nearly impossible to beat in the 500m event. Their speed stands testament to the Hungarian cliché ‘strong as a kayaker’.

Gabriella Szabó, Katalin Kovács, Krisztina Fazekas and Danuta Kozak were the team members who competed at the 2012 games. In 2013 Ninetta Vad joined the team, followed by Anna Karasz in 2014, replacing Katalin Kovács and Krisztina Fazekas.

Since 2012, the K4 team went on to win the World Championships in the 500m in 2013 in Duisburg, Germany and again in 2014 in Moscow. The team has backed up their worlds performances with European Championship gold medals in the 500m in both 2013 and 2014, as well as winning numerous World Cup medals. On top of all this, the team members have many individual and K2 medals between them from World Championships, European Championships and World Cup events.

To add to their impressive on-water performances, Katalin Kovács and Krisztina Fazekas have become mothers. Krisztina is married to former Israeli and US Olympic canoeist Rami Zur, and she competed for America in 2011 before returning to competing for Hungary again in 2012. In 2014 she gave birth to her son Noah, but still intends to remain competitive.

The Hungarian women’s K4 team have earned the respect of the international paddling community for their golden personalities as well as their golden results. They have been nominated for the ‘Team of the Year’ award for their domination of the women’s K4 500m event at all levels of competition.

This is a 2014 archived nominee. For the 2015 nominees click on the button below.